The Philippines settled for a fourth-place finish after losing to Indonesia, 12-25, 21-25, 17-25, in the battle for the bronze medal Wednesday night in the 19th Princess Cup Southeast Asian Women’s Under-19 Championship in Sisaket, Thailand.
After getting defeated by Vietnam, 14-25, 16-25, 18-25, in the semifinals the day before, the Filipinas fell short again and lost the Indonesians that sent the former settling for a No. 4 finish out of eight participants.
Salvaging some measure of pride was Kathleen Arado, a University of the East standout was adjudged the best libero in the tournament.
Phl team manager Peter Cayco said he is proud of the team’s accomplishment considering that the team was recently formed.
“It’s not that bad finishing in the upper half of the standings considering that this is a young team and we have little time to prepare,” said Cayco.
The Phl, which is composed of the best 19-and-under players headed by emerging National U setter Jasmine Nabor, started the tournament with victories over New Zealand, 25-23, 25-13, 17-25, 25-17, and Singapore, 25-9, 25-14, 25-23, but lost to eventual chamion Thailand, 14-25, 23-25, 16-25, in the group stages.
